My girls are 8 & 10 years old, and have had moderate allergies to pollen and cats, that sort of thing, for a few years. I had them retested recently, and they both showed a very mild skin reaction to tree nuts. So, the pediatric allergist said to take them off all tree nuts for a year and then he wants to retest them. His concern was that this was a new sensitivity and it could get worse. My 10 year old has been eating nuts without incident, my 8 year old avoids them because they are "yucky". But, she has them inadvertently in chocolate bars, cereals, etc. Again, no reaction from her. So today I'm at MY allergist (new doc), getting my allergies retested, and I tell him about all this with the kids, and he says that they should definately NOT stop eating them, as then they could get sensitized if they eat it later. He said they should keep eating them on a regular basis to keep up a tolerance. I told him what the other doc said and he said he disagreed. I asked if it's like allergy shots where you get a bit of the thing you are allergic to and that helps your body deal with it and he said yes. He said it's different when a child has a reaction that is obvious, like hives or selling, but if they are doing fine with it then keep it up.

So, what do you think? What have you guys been told? In a way, both could make sense I guess. Now I really don't know what to do!

the advice we have been given (given that they are already eating them without reaction ie real life reactions trump any other results-ie no reaction to eating overrides spt reaction) would be to follow what YOUR allergist says (ie keep eating them).
The trouble is that your children are being treated by another allergist who has a difference in opinion and its really pointless being managed by a specialist if you arent going to follow what they recommend-so......can you change them to your allergist....or seek a 2nd opinion for them.
good luck!

ps our allergist will only spt things that we believe a problematic-so if I believe we have had rashes etc to a particular food then he will test it-but not just random foods as in multiple tree nuts or dairy etc if we dont have real life reactions to them. My son particuarly has had many +ve spt's that when challenged in a hospital setting he has not had any reaction to.
caz

Avoiding the allergen is the hopes of outgrowing it is "old school thinking" (About 5 years ago). The current belief (that's really all science is ) is that patients should eat what they can tolerate. Not all allergies are anaphylaxis. There are exceptions and various medical conditions can play into it so do follow a medical professional's advice in this regard. It sounds like your allergist is under this belief but does he have all the information on your daughters to make this determination? Has he examined them/reviewed their charts?

My understanding is that patients are not to be unduly restricted in their diet. Avoid those foods which pose a danger yes, but not other foods. Harsh restrictions can result in poor nutrition which is also unhealthy. The medical community is seeming to be trying to balance the risks.

Our allergist basically says what Susan just did. If your girls aren't having reactions to what they are presently eating I wouldn't change a thing.....unless of course there is a definite reaction. It is hard enough to restrict foods, why restrict more than necessary.
You also have the right to take part of what your allergist says and the other part trust your gutt (within reason of course)!!

I was tested recently and had a mild allergy to hazelnuts. My allergist told me I could eat small amounts of them such as in baking or chocolate. However he advised me to strictly avoid eating hazelnuts raw especially out of the shell as this could cause an ana reaction.

_________________allergic to all tree pollens except grass, hazelnuts, fruit and some veggies

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